Young U.S. team stuns host squad

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The United States pulled off its biggest Olympic hockey upset since the Miracle on Ice, stunning Canada 5-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of an already mixed-up tournament.

Brian Rafalski scored two goals and set up another, and Ryan Miller held off a flurry of shots to lead the Americans.

“We know we can beat anybody now,” Rafalski said.

One day short of the 30th anniversary of the country’s greatest hockey victory — the unfathomable win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid — these underrated Americans were faster, more disciplined and more determined than Canada’s collection of all-stars.

Better, too.

Canada outshot the U.S. 45-23 yet couldn’t badly dent Miller, the goalie the Americans felt could best stand up to all of Canada’s might. He did just that, making 42 saves in the victory of a lifetime.

Depending on the later Finland-Sweden game that concluded hockey’s Super Sunday in Vancouver, the United States could go into Wednesday’s quarterfinals not only as a group winner but as the top-seeded team, something almost no one predicted when the tournament began.

Canada, the gold-medal favorite, was expected to coast into the medal round. But now, after nearly losing to Switzerland and being outplayed on home ice by the Americans, it must win a play-in game Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals. The Canadians still could win a gold medal, but now face a much tougher road that would include an additional game.

“We’re here to be the last ones standing and we’re still alive,” Canada goalie Martin Brodeur said. “We’re throwing 45 shots at these goalies and they are making stops facing forward, backward, sideways. Eventually we’ll be more successful.”

Chris Drury, a former Little League World Series star, and Jamie Langenbrunner scored to put the U.S. up 4-2 and hold off a relentless late surge by Canada that included Sidney Crosby’s power play goal with 3:09 remaining.

Miller made an exceptional save on Rick Nash’s shot from the slot with two minutes left to preserve it, and Ryan Kesler put it away by poking in an empty-net goal with one hand with 45 seconds remaining.

“It’s great for our young players to get a win of this caliber against that type of team,” Rafalski said. “Going forward, it sets the bar very high for us. It lets those guys know that we can possibly win this thing.”

The U.S, supposedly a tier below the Canadians, Russians and Swedes, got exactly the start it wanted. Rafalski’s slap shot from the right point 41 seconds into the game deflected off Crosby’s stick and past Brodeur, the best goalie of his generation.”We wanted a good start, but that was better than expected for sure,” U.S. forward Patrick Kane said.

Canada’s Eric Staal tied the score by deflecting Brent Seabrook’s shot from the right circle at 8:53 — one of 19 that Canada took to America’s six in the first period.

Just when it appeared Canada would blunt America’s early momentum, Rafalski scored again. The goal, 22 seconds after Staal’s goal, was set up by a rare misplay by Brodeur. The goalie threw the puck up the middle of the ice into traffic, Rafalski swooped in and snapped off a shot that a screened Brodeur apparently didn’t see.

“You just can’t beat it. It was fun,” said Paul Stastny, whose father, Peter, opposed that 1980 team while playing for Czechoslovakia. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere.”

Gangs were likely involved in the string of arson attacks, police said, and they come amid mounting concerns in Sweden about gang-related violence. More than 40 people were shot and killed in the Nordic country last year, and the prime minister said in January that he was not ruling out a military response to gang activity.

A rooftop camera recorded the silver Ford Fiesta driving past Parliament and suddenly veering sharply to the left, striking cyclists waiting at a set of lights, then crossing the road and crashing into a barrier outside Parliament. Armed police surrounded the car within seconds, pulling a man from the vehicle. Police said the driver was alone and no weapons were...